Royal Caribbean International keeps adding more entertainment options to their innovative ships. Among the latest editions are escape rooms. After experiencing Escape the Future on Anthem of the Seas last year, we were looking forward to this newly designed escape room on Harmony of the Seas. And boy, did it deliver! If you have never participated in a Puzzle Break, then you are in for a real treat. Here is everything you need to know about Escape the Rubicon on Harmony of the Seas.

Escape the Rubicon Harmony of the Seas

Escape the Rubicon on Harmony of the Seas

What is Puzzle Break?

Puzzle Break is a U.S. based company that creates interactive Escape Rooms in various cities. Partnering with Royal Caribbean, they have created a similar experience on Harmony of the Seas with Escape the Rubicon. The escape room concept is quite simple- guests have a specific amount of time to work together to find clues, solve puzzles, and locate the key to ESCAPE. If you do not find the key in time, you lose and the game is over.

How Do You Play Escape the Rubicon?

During this experience, your group will watch a short video and be given some basic instructions, then you will be led into a seemingly empty room. Once the clock is started, it is your mission to explore every nook and cranny of the room in search of clues that will help you eventually tie all the pieces together and solve the puzzle. Leave no object un-turned as it could be the missing link.

Escape the Rubicon Harmony of the Seas

At first, all of the random things you discover- symbols, pictures, objects, and puzzles- might have you feeling a bit perplexed. The puzzles involve logic, patterns, and plenty of critical thinking so you need to be up for the challenge. This is why working as a team is so important. Collaborate, set up a central command post to help bring all the different pieces together, talk out loud, work on your strengths, and build off of each other, as that is the only way you will escape. Most importantly, be patient and communicate!

Who Can Participate in Escape the Rubicon?

The Escape the Rubicon experience on Harmony of the Seas is an activity that is fun for most members of the family. Royal Caribbean recommends the activity for children 14 years and older. The max number of people who can play at one time is 12.

Escape the Rubicon Harmony of the Seas

While all of the clues and puzzles are family friendly, they are often complex “brain teasers” that would not be appropriate for younger children. So, invite the teens, mom and dad, and of course the grandparents; just make sure everyone brings his or her thinking cap.

Where is the Escape the Rubicon?

With this brand new ship, Royal Caribbean has a dedicated room just for Escape the Rubicon. It is located on Deck 14, forward, at the front entrance of Adventure Ocean. Do not let the location of the Puzzle Break fool you, this game is not for the kiddies.

How Can I Sign-Up for Escape the Rubicon?

Going digital, Royal Caribbean offers a few options for you to sign-up to play. Before your cruise, you can log in to your Cruise Planner. Under the Activities section, you will see Escape the Rubicon: Puzzle Break. If you’d rather wait until you are on the ship, you can use the RoyalIQ app to sign-up for the game. If you are not tech savvy enough for either of those options, head to Guest Services.

When Does Escape the Rubicon Occur During the Cruise?

Given the popularity of the Puzzle Break rooms, Royal Caribbean offers several different times on most days of the cruise so everyone can have a chance to experience this first at sea game. For our 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise, Escape the Rubicon was offered on Days 2-7. There are approximately 6 different time slots each day, starting in the late morning (10am or 11am) and running until around 7:00pm. The total time is 90 minutes, as players need to get there early for instructions and an overview. You will then have 60 minutes to make it out in one piece!

Escape the Rubicon Harmony of the Seas

How Much Does Escape the Rubicon Cost?

One of the only downsides is that this Puzzle Break on Harmony of the Seas is no longer complimentary. The cost to participate in the escape room is $8.99, per person. If you book while on the cruise, this amount will be charged to your SeaPass account. If you schedule a time before your trip, you will need to pay for each player using a credit card.

What is it like Playing Escape the Rubicon?

Fun. During our 60 minute journey “lost in space”, we encountered a number of challenging tasks. Working as a team, we were able to solve them all except the very last puzzle. Being one of the most high tech Puzzle Break rooms ever created, many of the puzzles are interactive. Solving one puzzle can reveal another puzzle or series of clues for the next challenge. Lights, sound, videos, and more are all part of the experience. Everything in the room must be thoroughly examined if you plan on getting out in time!

Escape the Rubicon Harmony of the Seas

Along the way, a staff member is there to give hints and ensure things line up just right. It is tough to describe the challenges without giving away the answers. Most of the different obstacles involve figuring out a pattern or some relationship between seemingly dissociated clues you have collected. We started off slow, picked up the pace in the middle, but failed to make that final connection before the clock ran out. Once we were shown the simple heuristic, solving the final puzzle was rather simple.

In our opinion, Escape the Rubicon was well worth the small up-charge, and we got to meet a group of fellow cruisers who also appeared to thoroughly enjoy the game. We are keeping our fingers crossed that future ships will have similar puzzle break experiences. We are ready for the challenge!

Comments

Have you experienced the Escape the Rubicon: Puzzle Break or a similar escape room experience on land? Drop us an anchor below to share your thoughts on this first at sea onboard Harmony of the Seas. We would love to hear from you.